Lea Michele Shades Production On Debut LP, Says She’s More Hands-On With Next One

Unlike with her starring role on Glee, Lea Michele is so far keeping it somewhat low-key on Ryan Murphy‘s new fright fest Scream Queens. Sure, her character’s diabolical side was revealed this week, in episode five, but for the most part Lea has been playing somewhere between fourth and fifth banana on the series up to this point.

That said, a new cover story in the upcoming November issue of Marie Claire shows that Michele has been quite active with plotting her next album — and she also dissed the sound of her debut LP, 2014’s Louder.

“The problem with the first record was that I would record a song, and then I would get it back from production and it would sound very different,” Michele says in her Marie Claire cover story. “As an artist, that can be jarring. That’s why I’m more hands-on [with my new album]. This is about experience, about confidence.”

Granted, there were literally a boatload of producers involved with Louder, a situation that can cause any album to sound uneven. Those who had a hand in Lea’s debut LP include Stargate, Benny Blanco, Monsterz & Strangerz, The Messengers, Josh Abraham, Scott Cutler, Sir Nolan and several others. And while the album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 after its February release last year, it quickly dropped out of sight.

“I’m sure it’s like—kids? The first time around, you’re just kind of winging it. You’re like, ‘I hope I don’t fuck up this kid’,” Michele continues in Marie Claire. “The second time around, you’re not as intimidated, so you know how to handle each thing…I have a clearer vision.”

So what do you think — are you here for Lea Michele’s second stab at pop?